Rotation punch brush module

ABSTRACT

Provided is a rotation punch brush module, which includes a sterilizing lamp that is longitudinally extended long in length and enables to emit light capable of sterilizing, a shaft that is longitudinally extended long in length in the same direction as the sterilizing lamp, and has a hollow space in its center for the insertion of the sterilizing lamp, and that is mechanically connected with a rotation motor and revolves with the rotation motor driven, and a rotation punch brush that is extended long in length along the direction of the shaft, in which a plurality of brushes are radially aligned outside the shaft along its circumferential direction with being coupled with the shaft, and with spaced apart from each other with an interval.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0114117 filed on Sep. 5, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a rotation punch brush module and, more particularly, to a rotation punch brush module in which a sterilizing lamp is mounted inside rotating brushes, thereby to form one module.

2. Description of Related Art

A vacuum cleaner is normally operated in such a manner that its inside body is made vacuum state by a powerful vacuum rotation motor, and ambient dirt and dust are taken into the cleaner body by vacuum suction power supplied from an intake port located at one portion of the lower side of the cleaner body.

The intake port of the cleaner body exerting vacuum suction power may be formed with various shapes in order to more effectively intake foreign substances such as dust depending on the condition of the region being cleaned.

Such a normal vacuum cleaner has disadvantages in exerting full suction power good enough to completely collect and remove minute particles such as dirt and dust which are deeply embedded inside the subjects being cleaned such as cushions including bedclothes or bed sheets because deeply-embedded dust-like particles cannot be completely removed just by the weak suction power of the typical vacuum cleaner unless shaking or hitting by force to be taken out off, and only the dirt and dust hanging and attached on the surface of a target can be sucked in.

In order to address the above problem, there have been efforts of developing a vacuum cleaner using vibration and having a vibration rotation motor independently installed around the intake hole of a vacuum cleaner.

Such vibration-type vacuum cleaners as above are operated to cause vibration mechanically by the driving force of the vibration rotation motor so as to vibrate the bottom surface of the bedclothes or car sheets. Thus, the dust particles deeply embedded inside the bedclothes or car sheets are pulled out and sucked inside the vacuum cleaner.

The vibration-type vacuum cleaners include the kinds of vibrating by using the principle of an eccentric cam or vibrating by the up-and-down movement of a vibrating member depending on the intake air flow.

Such a conventional vibration-type vacuum cleaner as above has a disadvantage of the vibration movement being unstable and non-uniform. In addition, the vibration-type vacuum cleaner always lacks in the space for independently installing a vibration rotation motor around the intake hole of the vacuum cleaner, thereby to require the size increase of the vacuum cleaner and its intake portion.

Furthermore, such a conventional vacuum cleaner has a disadvantage of impossibility in sterilizing and removing many forms of harmful parasitic germs or mites existing deep inside cushions or all types of bedclothes.

The mite as above is normally 0.4˜1 mm in length. Particularly, the mites form living in parasitic on home is normally a house dust mite, and is parasitic mostly in fiber, and lives off the outermost layer of human skin.

The harmful materials such as guanine proteins generated from the faeces of mites or from mite remains are a major source of house dust allergens, and thus, if such harmful materials are inhaled into human body, they cause allergic rhinitis and asthma, and if being in contact with human skin, they cause allergic dermatitis such as atopic dermatitis. Therefore, nowadays occurring there are necessities of removing the mites being parasitic inside bedclothes or bed sheets, etc.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a rotation punch brush module employed in usage of instruments for sterilizing and removing mites or hazardous germs.

Other embodiments of the present invention provide a rotation punch brush module for realizing and contributing to size miniaturization.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the rotation punch brush module may include a sterilizing lamp, a shaft and a rotation punch brush.

The sterilizing lamp may be longitudinally extended long in length and function to emit the light capable of sterilizing.

The shaft may be longitudinally extended long in length in the same direction as the sterilizing lamp. A hollow tube may be formed in the center of the shaft such that the sterilizing lamp can be inserted there into. The shaft may be mechanically connected with a rotation motor and can revolve with the rotation motor driven.

The rotation punch brush may be extended long in length along the direction of the shaft, and a plurality of brushes may be radially aligned outside the shaft along its circumferential direction with spaced apart from each other with an interval and with being coupled with the shaft.

The shaft may include a through hole through which the light of the sterilizing lamp passes and comes outwardly.

The through hole may be positioned between two neighboring rotation punch brushes and may be formed long in length along the longitudinal direction of the shaft.

The shaft may include a plurality of joint grooves formed long along the longitudinal direction of the shaft. Further, the rotation punch brush may have a joint part being inserted into the joint groove.

The joint part may be formed on one end of the rotation punch brush and shaped to be extended from the one end toward its both sides and formed long along the longitudinal direction of the rotation punch brush. One end of the joint groove may be formed to be open.

Thus, the one end of each rotation punch brush may be inserted into the opened portion of the joint groove and pushed inwardly along the longitudinal direction of the shaft, so as to couple the shaft and the rotation punch brush together.

The rotation punch brush may be formed of an elastic material, and may be extended outwardly with a predetermined height toward the direction of the radius of the section of the shaft.

Thus, the rotation punch brushes can hit the surface of a target being cleaned while rotating, and separate contaminants off from the surface being cleaned.

Meanwhile, the light emitted from the sterilizing lamp may be ultraviolet rays.

Further, the sterilizing lamp and the shaft may be spaced apart from each other, and the shaft only may revolve while the sterilizing lamp is fixed.

Therefore, in accordance with the rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention, a sterilizing lamp for emitting the light capable of sterilizing the surface being cleaned of a target can be provided to remove mites or hazardous germs.

Additionally, in accordance with the rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention, a sterilizing lamp can be inserted into the tube-shaped hollow formed inside the rotating shaft having the rotation punch brushes installed therein, which are integrally positioned so as to provide the advantage in minimizing the size of the instrument while compared with the conventional case in which a rotation punch brush and a sterilizing lamp are independently positioned.

Details of other embodiments are included in detailed explanations and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present inventions will be apparent from the more particular description of preferred embodiments of the present inventions, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the present inventions. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the assembled feature of a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing that a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention is employed in a cleaner;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing that a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention is employed as part of a cleaner; and

FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing a typical handy-type cleaner in related art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Since exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided only for structural and functional descriptions of the present invention, the present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Thus, it will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in different forms and include equivalents that can realize the spirit of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the present invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the present invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. Meanwhile, spatially relative terms, such as “between” and “directly between” or “adjacent to” and “directly adjacent to” and the like, which are used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures, should be interpreted similarly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this present invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and this specification and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Unless expressly defined in a specific order herein, respective steps described in the present invention may be performed otherwise. That is, the respective steps may be performed in a specified order, substantially at the same time, or in reverse order.

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown.

Hereinafter, a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an assembled front view of a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be employed in the head of a cleaner or in the body of a handy type cleaner.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sterilizing lamp 110, a shaft 120, and a rotating punch brush 130.

The sterilizing lamp 110 has a cylinder-like shape and is extended along the longitudinal direction with a predetermined length, and emits light capable of sterilizing the object being cleaned where virus, bacteria, and microorganism are all being removed.

Here, for the light being capable of sterilizing as above, ultraviolet (UV) rays can be used as light of the sterilizing lamp 110 in order to effectively kill such harmful germs with a great sterilizing power of 1,600 times as high as that of sun. However, the light irradiated from the sterilizing lamp 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited just to the ultraviolet rays, and any kind of light can be employed as long as it is capable of killing virus, bacteria, and microorganism completely and effectively.

A terminal 112 can be provided with at least one side of the sterilizing lamp 110 for receiving an electric power externally. In this embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in the drawings, two terminals 112 are formed at both sides of the sterilizing lamp 110 as example, but the terminal 112 can be provided only with one side of the sterilizing lamp 110.

A shaft 120 is formed also longitudinally being long along the same direction as that of the sterilizing lamp 110, and the central inside of the shaft 120 is formed to be shaped as a hollow tube into which the sterilizing lamp 110 can be inserted. The shaft 120 revolves about the central axial line of the shaft 120.

To achieve this, a rotation motor 140 can be provided with the inside of a housing part 200, which will be described below, and the rotation motor 140 acts to supply rotation power to the shaft 120 while it is connected with the shaft 120 mechanically. In addition, a rotation connection unit 228 can be displaced between the shaft 120 and the rotation motor 140 and functions to mechanically connect the shaft 120 and the rotation motor 140.

Herein, the sterilizing lamp 110 and the shaft 120 may be displaced with spaced apart from each other. While the sterilizing lamp 110 and the shaft 120 are not coupled with each other, only the shaft 120 can be rotated when the rotation motor 140 is driven and while the sterilizing lamp 110 is fixed.

Further, a through hole 122 can be formed on the shaft 120 for the light of the sterilizing lamp 110 to pass there through and its irradiation to be released out of the shaft 120. One through hole 122 is displaced between any two neighboring rotation punch brushes 130 aligned in parallel with each other, and can be formed with extended long along the direction in which the shaft 120 is extended.

As structured above, the ultraviolet rays of the sterilizing lamp 110 is irradiated out through the through holes 122 to the outside while the shaft 120 revolves, so as to sterilize and remove various kinds of harmful germs and microorganism on the surface being cleaned of a target, or the harmful germs and microorganism existing in the contaminants which were taken off and separated from the subject being cleaned of a target.

Meanwhile, the rotation punch brushes 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention function to hit the surface being cleaned of a target to cause dust there from and sweep it off from the surface while the rotation punch brushes 130 can be coupled with the shaft 120, and can be rotated together with the rotation of the shaft 120. The rotation punch brush 130 has a longitudinal extent being long along the longitudinal direction as the shaft 120. The plurality of the shafts 120 can be disposed to be aligned along the circumferential surface with an interval between two neighboring shafts, which forms a radial pattern.

The rotation punch brush 130 can be made of a flexible and elastic material such as rubber or silicon. However, the material of the rotation punch brush 130 is not limited to the above, and can employ any kind of material as long as it can hit the surface being cleaned of a target to shake the dust off there from.

A plurality of joint grooves 124 can be formed on the outer surface of the shaft 120 to extend long along the longitudinal line direction of the shaft 120, for the joint coupling with the rotation punch brushes 130, and a partial portion of each of the rotation punch brushes 130 is inserted to each of the joint groove 124. Each of the rotation punch brushes 130 has a joint part 132 which is inserted into and fits each of the joint grooves 124.

The joint part 132 may be disposed at one end of the rotation punch brush 130 and formed in such a manner of being extended from the one end toward its both sides. The joint part 132 may be also formed long along the longitudinal direction of the rotation punch brush 130.

The joint groove 124 is shaped to correspond with and fit the joint part 132, and its one end may be open. Therefore, the shaft 120 and the rotation punch brushes 130 can be coupled together by inserting one end of the rotation punch brush 130 into the opened portion of the joint groove 124 one by one, and pushing the rotation punch brushes 130 deep inwardly along the longitudinal direction of the shaft 120.

As doing above, the rotation punch brushes 130 may be detachably disposed on the shaft 120 so that even when any one of the rotation punch brushes 130 is damaged by long usage, there is no need to entirely replace the rotation punch brush module 100, and only the damaged rotation punch brush 130 can be detached and separated from the entire module 100, and it is enough possible to replace or repair only the damaged rotation punch brush 130 itself, thereby remarkably decreasing the expenses for entire maintenance and fixing.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing that a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention is employed in a cleaner, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing that a rotation punch brush module according to an embodiment of the present invention is employed as part of a cleaner.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cleaner or the cleaner head including the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention shows its outward feature and may include a housing part 200 there inside in which the rotation punch brush module 100 is displaced.

The housing part 200 may include a lower housing 210, an upper housing (not shown), and a side housing 220.

Even though not shown in the drawings, an exposure hole (not shown) may be formed on the lower housing 210 to expose the rotation punch brush module 100 outward. A grill 214 may be formed on the lower housing 210 to prevent the rotation punch brush module 100 from getting out from the housing and can be designed to cover the exposure hole (not shown).

An intake hole (not shown) may be formed on the lower housing 210 to be communicated with an intake path of the cleaner and through which air and contamination materials can be taken into the inside of the cleaner body.

Further, a brush cover 216 can be provided inside the housing part 200 and located on the lower housing 210 to cover the rotation punch brushes 130. With the brush cover 216 provided, the contaminated materials scattered by the rotation punch brushes 130 and the contaminated materials clinging to the rotation punch brushes 130 can be prevented from invading the inside of the housing part 200.

An upper housing (not shown), which is disposed on the lower housing 210, can be coupled with the lower housing 210. The upper housing (not shown) functions to cover the components of the rotation punch brush module 100 and the housing part 200.

The side housing 220, which is placed on one side of the housing part 200, can couple the upper housing (not shown) and the lower housing 210. Further, sockets 222 and 224 can be provided on the side housing 220 to be coupled with a terminal 112 of the sterilizing lamp 110 and to supply electric power to the sterilizing lamp 110. The sockets 222 and 224 are fixed to the side housing 220 not to rotate. Thus, the sterilizing lamp 110 does not rotate.

In this embodiment, either one of the sockets 222 and 224, which are respectively connected to both sides of the sterilizing lamp 110, is fixed to the housing part 200, and the rest one of the sockets 222 and 224 may be provided to be detachable. Hereinafter, the socket attached to the housing part 200 will be referred to as a first socket 222, and the socket provided detachably will be referred to as a second socket 224.

The second socket 224 can be coupled with a socket cover 226. The socket cover 226 may be placed on the side opposite to the side housing 220, and can couple the upper housing (not shown) and the lower housing 210. Herein, the socket cover 226 coupled with the second socket 224 functions to prevent the second socket 224 from being exposed, and to fasten the sterilizing lamp 110, which is coupled with the second socket 224, and the housing part 200. Further, a socket support 218 may be placed on the lower housing 210 to support the second socket 224.

A rotation connection part 228 is provided on the side housing 220 to enable to rotate in relation to the side housing 220. The rotation connection part 228 may be disposed to cover the exterior of the first socket 222, but the rotation connection part 228 is not coupled with the first socket 222. So, the rotation motor 140 can rotate only the rotation connection part 228. Therefore, the sterilizing lamp 110 does not rotate, and the shaft 120 only, which is placed outside the sterilizing lamp 110, can rotate.

As above, the cleaner including the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention was described.

The rotation punch brush module 100 structured as above in this embodiment is operated in such a manner that with the rotation motor 140 driven, the shaft 140 which is mechanically connected with the rotation motor 140 is rotated, and with the shaft 120 rotated, the plurality of the rotation punch brushes 130 which are coupled with the shaft 120 can hit the surface being cleaned of a target. At the moment of the hitting by the rotation punch brushes 130 of the rotation punch brush module 100, all types of contaminant materials, which are attached and cling to the surface being cleaned of a target, for example, dust, fine dust, yellow dust, germs, harmful insects and so on, can be separated there from by the hitting power of the rotation punch brushes 130.

With continuous rotational operation of the rotation punch brushes 130, the contaminants are swept and moved toward the intake hole (not shown).

At the same time, the ultraviolet rays emitted from the sterilizing lamp 110 passes through the through holes 122 and reaches the surface being cleaned of a target, so as to enable sterilize and remove germs, bacteria, harmful insects and so on existing inside the surface being cleaned of the target. Further, the ultraviolet rays also irradiates on the contaminants which are sucked up and taken into the cleaner, so as to enable sterilize and remove the germs, bacteria, harmful insects included in the contaminants.

Therefore, as well as the sterilization of the surface being cleaned of a target, it is also prevented germs or harmful insects from being attached to and propagated around the intake hole (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing a typical handy-type cleaner of the related art.

FIG. 5 shows one example of a handy-type bedding cleaner. As shown in FIG. 5, the typical handy-type bedding cleaner includes a detection unit 40 for detecting hazardous and harmful substance, a hitting unit 30 for hitting the surface being cleaned of a target and separating the harmful substance from the surface being cleaned, a brush 10 for sweeping away the contaminants from the surface being cleaned, and an ultraviolet lamp 20 for sterilizing and removing various germs, harmful insects and so on included in the contaminants. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the brush 10 and the ultraviolet lamp 20 are individually and separately disposed in the handy-type bedding cleaner. Therefore, the size of the conventional cleaner became increased, which is negative in its usage.

Meanwhile, the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has the structure in that the sterilizing lamp 110 is displaced inside the shaft 120, and thus, the structure provides the cleaner with the same function as that of the normal cleaner as described above, and additionally it provides a great advantage that the cleaner or the cleaner head employing the rotation punch brush module according to the present invention can be significantly reduced in size.

As such, the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be employed to the cleaner head of a normal vacuum cleaner, or a handy-type cleaner, or a cleaner only for bedding.

In case that a cleaner head having the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention installed therein is used for a normal vacuum cleaner, the cleaner head including the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be used as a replaceable head.

Or, as such in this embodiment in which the rotation punch brush module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is employed in a small-sized handy-type cleaner, the rotation motor 140, a filter and so on may be installed inside the housing part 200.

The foregoing is illustrative of embodiments and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this present invention as defined in the claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function, and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A rotation punch brush module comprising: a sterilizing lamp that is longitudinally extended long in length and capable of emitting light for sterilizing; a shaft that is longitudinally extended long in length in the same direction as the sterilizing lamp, and has a hollow space in its center for the insertion of the sterilizing lamp, and that is mechanically connected with a rotation motor and revolves with the rotation motor driven; and a rotation punch brush that is extended long in length along the direction of the shaft, in which a plurality of brushes are radially provided outside the shaft along its circumferential direction with being coupled with the shaft, and aligned with spaced apart from each other with an interval.
 2. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft comprises a through hole for irradiation and exposure of the light of the sterilizing lamp, through which the light of the sterilizing lamp passes and comes outwardly.
 3. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 2, wherein the through hole is positioned between two neighboring rotation punch brushes and formed long in length along the longitudinal direction of the shaft.
 4. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft comprises a plurality of joint grooves formed long along the longitudinal direction of the shaft such that a part of each rotation punch brush is inserted into each joint groove, and each rotation punch brush comprises a joint part to be inserted into the joint groove.
 5. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 4, wherein the joint part is formed on one end of the rotation punch brush and shaped to be extended from the one end toward its both sides and formed long along the longitudinal direction of the rotation punch brush, and the joint groove is formed for its one end to be open, and the one end of the rotation punch brush is inserted into the opened portion of the joint groove and pushed inwardly along the longitudinal direction of the shaft, so as to couple the shaft and the rotation punch brushes together.
 6. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotation punch brush is formed of an elastic material with extended outwardly, and has a height toward the direction of the radius of the section of the shaft.
 7. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotation punch brush hits the surface of a target being cleaned while rotating, and separates contaminants off from the surface being cleaned.
 8. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light emitted from the sterilizing lamp is ultraviolet rays.
 9. The rotation punch brush module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sterilizing lamp and the shaft are spaced apart from each other, and the shaft only revolves while the sterilizing lamp is fixed. 